Romantic movie night at home: Valentine's Day
When the VCR was introduced in the 1980s, the experience of watching a movie was forever altered. For several decades previous, there was only one way to see a movie -- at the cinema, in the dark, with overpriced concessions. Sure, you could watch broadcast TV movies at home, but you had to settle for whatever the networks were putting out that night.
Along with the VCR came video rental stores, the option to choose your own films, and the dawn of Movie Night at Home. The technology keeps advancing -- VHS to DVD to digital download -- but the essential appeal remains the same. It's a great tradition, Movie Night at Home. My family has been doing a weekly movie night all the way back to, yes, the 1980s.
Part of the fun is planning movie nights around themes and holidays. With Valentine's Day having rotated around yet again, here are ten recommendations for romantic movies and love stories on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD -- the emerging consensus term for movies you can download or stream.
If you're in a hurry, you can find all of these films in digital download format -- for rental or purchase -- via online retailers like iTunes and Amazon. If you want to buy on disc -- DVD or Blu-ray -- we've indicated packages with interesting behind-the-scenes bonus materials.
Sure this is an obvious choice, but it's an obvious choice for a reason. Director James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster glows up the silver screen love story to epic, tragic proportions. It's fashionable to make fun of Cameron's bombastic style, but the man knows how to turn the dramatic screws.
The saga of Jack and Rose is a classic high-drama love story told in old-fashioned Hollywood style, with state-of-the-art special effects. The film has been reissued in several retail packages; the four-disc DVD/Blu-ray pack has 30 deleted scenes and two documentaries.
The little indie film that could, this terrific 2009 love story from director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) came out of the Sundance film festival and went on to great commercial and critical success. The movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as star-crossed young lovers in Los Angeles, and unspools in non-linear fashion -- jumping back and forward through the 500-day span of the love affair. DVD and Blu-ray editions include commentary tracks from the director and writers, plus some extended scenes.
For a weirder kind of love story, consider the dark comedy True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino just before his career went supernova. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette play outlaw lovers on the run, with ace supporting turns from the likes of Brad Pitt, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken and James Gandolfini. Very funny (and very violent), True Romance is a good pick for a Tarantino-style Valentine's move night. The "Director's Cut" DVD edition includes generous extras plus an alternate ending.
One of the best films ever made in any genre, Casablanca has a great love story at its center, with American expat Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) sacrificing all for the sake of true love Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). With its exotic setting and wartime intrigue, Casablanca is like a reverberating echo chamber of old-time Hollywood romantic drama. The 2012 70thAnniversary Edition on Blu-ray compiles hours of old and new bonus materials from previous editions.
If you haven't seen it in a while, When Harry Met Sally is worth revisiting just to admire the clockwork rom-com precision of it all. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have a romantic and comedic chemistry so powerful it should be regulated by the EPA. The movie can be found on multiple streaming platforms, or bundled with other films of the era on multi-disc DVD collections.
A solid choice for parents planning a Valentine's movie night with the kids, The Princess Bride is another enduring classic from director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally).
The movie's sly humor and storybook vibe pioneered the kind of family entertainment that's commonplace now, where movies operate on two levels -- providing jokes for both kids and grown-ups. The 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, released in 2012, features retrospective interviews with cast and crew. Wuv! Twue Wuv!
William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet
For a more literary Valentine's movie night, consider this kinetic update of Shakespeare’s most famous romance, from director Baz Lurhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the doomed couple in question, but the real fun is in Luhrmann's unhinged update strategy, with its guns, mafia grudges and 1990s alt-rock soundtrack. The 2010 Blu-ray reissue includes the standard array of the behind-the-scenes extras.
Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Before Sunrise is the love story pared down to its essentials as two students meet on a train -- then walk and talk and fall in love until the sun comes up.
Director Richard Linklater (Boyhood) followed up his original with two sequels -- Before Sunset and Before Midnight. All can be found individually via various streaming services, but those looking to buy may want to wait. It's only a matter of time before the trilogy is issued on disc.
The unlikely love story of 19-year-old Harold (Bud Cort) and 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) is one of cinema's weirdest, sweetest romances. Director Hal Ashby's 1971 cult classic was recently reissued on Blu-ray by the archivists at the Criterion Collection, with a new digital restoration, a remastered soundtrack and a booklet of interviews and essays. The themes of Harold and Maude seem a bit on-the-nose these days, but bear in mind that irony hadn't yet gone viral in 1971.
Tina Fey and Steve Carell are two of the funniest people on the planet, which they demonstrate throughout the neo-screwball comedy Date Night. As parents stuck in a rut, the two New Jersey suburbanites have a wild night in Manhattan when date night plans go seriously sideways. Be sure to check out the extras on disc (or online), which feature some amazing alternate takes and bloopers by veteran improvisers Fey and Carell.
